The name ‘kroezeboom’ comes from ‘cross tree’. These trees often stood at crossroads of (church) paths or on borders between marken (old, medieval hamlets). They served as landmarks in the landscape. In the past, people sometimes placed a cross (statue) in or near the tree, or hung a sign on it to mark an important spot.
The crown trees often served as boundary markers. Local court sessions were also held under the canopy, short meetings were held or people gathered on feast and memorial days. In some places, the kroezeboom was a place to hold outdoor religious gatherings, such as when Catholics were no longer allowed to have a church building during the Reformation.
The kroezeboom in Ruurlo is an unusual summer oak of between 300 and 400 years old. It is estimated to have been planted between anno 1650 and 1700. This makes it one of the oldest trees in the Netherlands. The tree used to stand in a recognisable place to mark the property boundary between different fields. But since 1947, the oak has stood in the garden of Villa Arcadia, on the corner of Kroezelaan and Borculoseweg.
You immediately recognise it with a height of over 22 metres and a trunk circumference of more than a metre. What is special about the tree is that it is four-stemmed, probably originating from the same root complex: in other words, four trunks from the same tree. This makes it the thickest tree in the Netherlands.
Kroezeboom (Cross tree) Ruurlo
Kroezelaan / Borculoseweg
7261 BC
Ruurlo
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